Simon’s Morocco Casino and Gambling Guide

Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is one of the only 3 countries (with Spain and France) that has both Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines. Morocco’s capital city is Rabat, although the largest city is Casablanca.

Morocco is a historically prominent power in Africa and was mostly independent throughout its history. The country became a protectorate state for both France and Spain in the early 20th century, which caused many disputes both between France and Spain and Moroccan citizens and Europeans. However, Morocco regained its independence in 1956.

The country’s culture is a blend of Arab, Berber, Sub-Saharan African, and European. Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. The King of Morocco holds vast executive and legislative powers over the military, foreign policy, and religious affairs. The king can issue decrees (called dahirs) which have the force of law too. The king can also dissolve the parliament after consulting the Prime Minister and president of the constitutional court.

Morocco’s predominant religion is Islam. The official languages are Arabic and Berber, and French is recognized as a national language.

Most of the Islamic nations banned gambling due to the teachings of the Quran (according to the Quran, gambling is pure evil, addictive, and make people forget their social obligations). However, that’s not the case in Morocco. All forms of gambling (even online gambling) are pretty much legal in Morocco, as there are no specific laws banning it. Online gambling is legal too and it is a fast growing business in Morocco. There are currently 7 land-based casinos operating in Morocco, the oldest one (Casino de Marrakech) in Marrakech since 1952. Each casino offers the full range of casino games: roulette, poker, blackjack, and slot machines, just to name a few.

Morocco’s casino business is nowhere near the biggest in the world, but it is one of the largest in Africa.

Casino gambling in Morocco

Online casino gambling in Morocco: legal

Land-based casinos are legal in Morocco despite the Islamic religion being dominant in the country (Islam bans all forms of gambling). The first casino (Casino de Marrakech) opened in Marrakech back in 1952 and after 1956 many more followed like the Le Grand Casino La Mamounia and the Mazagan Resort and Casino in Casablanca. There are currently 7 brick-and-mortar casinos operating in Morocco. Because the population is mostly Islamic, the casino business’ focus in Morocco are the tourists. Online gambling is legal too and numerous offshore online casinos accept players from Morocco.

The following online casinos accept players from Morocco:

BGO casino – accepting players from Morocco

32 Red casino – accepting players from Morocco

Casino Euro – accepting players from Morocco

Black lotus casino – accepting players from Morocco

Lotus Asia casino – accepting players from Morocco

GT Bets accepts players from Morocco – accepting Bitcoins as well

Bingo in Morocco

Online bingo in Morocco: legal

Bingo is a quite popular casino game around the world, especially in the US. There is only one bingo hall in Morocco as of now, where players can play this fascinating game. However, Moroccan citizens can try out numerous types of bingo in offshore online casinos too, from the comfort of their homes.

The following bingo websites accept players from Morocco:

BGO bingo – accepting players from Morocco

32 Red Bingo – accepting registrations from Morocco

Poker in Morocco

Online poker in Morocco: legal

Arguably, poker is the most popular casino game in the world. The main reasons behind its ever growing popularity are the constant television broadcasts and world championships like the WSOP. Poker is quite popular in Morocco too, as Salaheddin Yatim reached 3rd place in the WPT back in 2014. Interestingly enough, he is the son of a Moroccan politician, Mohamed Yatim, who wanted to ban gambling related advertisements.* However, poker is still legal both in land-based casinos and in offshore ones.

Sports betting in Morocco

Online sports betting in Morocco: legal

Sports betting is another popular and common form of gambling found in many casinos around the world. Sports are very popular in Morocco, especially football. The Moroccan football team was the first from Africa to reach the second round of a World Cup back in 1986. Morocco was scheduled to host the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations tournament, but the government refused it due to fear of the ebola outbreak on the continent.* Sports betting is legal as many other forms of gambling in Morocco. Players can visit land-based casinos to play or they can try out their luck and bet online. Unfortunately, as of now there aren’t any Morocco-based online casinos. However, a few foreign online bookmakers accept punters from Morocco.

Lottery in Morocco

Online lottery in Morocco: legal, state monopoly

Arguably, the lottery is the most common form of gambling out there. Every country where gambling is legal has a national lottery and Morocco is no different. Morocco’s national lottery is called Loterie Nationale and it was first introduced back in 1972. Since then, it is drawn annually. Moroccan players can also participate in foreign lottery draws if they want to play different types of lotteries on the internet.

Bitcoin gambling in Morocco

Bitcoin gambling in Morocco: not specifically regulated

Bitcoin is a digital currency often referred to as a “cryptocurrency” introduced back in 2008. Since then, it gained popularity worldwide as an alternative mean of payment. Shortly after the introduction of the currency Bitcoin gambling appeared. It began to catch on too as more and more casinos started to specialize in it. Bitcoin is still a relatively new phenomenon so only just a handful of countries issued laws concerning it. As of now, Morocco has no specific laws concerning Bitcoin gambling or Bitcoin in general. Bitcoin gambling is not specifically regulated. However, it is most probably legal, due to the fact that Bitcoin gambling can be viewed as a form of online gambling.